Page 14 of The Trouble with Sexy (Rock Canyon, Idaho 0.50)

He moved past to open the door for her, and was awarded another flash of white teeth behind perfectly glossed lips as she moved toward him.

Confidence.

That’s what he saw shining in her eyes. Ryan had always been a bit like a scared mouse, but something inside her had blossomed with the new clothes and hair. She laughed and smiled more than he had ever seen before. She was still his funny friend Ryan, but she was so much more now. The awkward little duckling had transformed into a proud, beautiful swan. It wasn’t the clothes or the makeup that made her beautiful, though. It was the fact that wearing them had given her the little push she needed to come out of her shell.

Suddenly his graceful swan was pitching forward. He reached out to catch her, pulling her tight against his chest. “Are you okay?”

Her face was pressed against his chest and he couldn’t see her expression, just heard a muffled “Damnit.”

He reached down to lift her face up and noticed the red hue on her cheeks and the wet drops on her lashes. “What’s wrong?”

She took a breath and said, “I’m such a klutz.”

He chuckled, and the look she shot him was so pained it cut his mirth short. “Everybody trips. If I was wearing boots with heels like that, I’d have broken an ankle by now. It doesn’t make you a klutz. In fact, I was just thinking how graceful you were.”

She scoffed at him. “Yeah right.”

He squeezed her until she looked up at him. “Why don’t we just pretend it was a clever ploy on your part so that I’d be forced to hold you tight?”

Her mouth twitched. “That’s awfully chivalrous of you.”

He shrugged. “What can I say? My mama raised me right.”

She laughed and started to pull away. “Thanks. For catching me.”

“Any time.” He followed her out the door, and when they reached the porch he reached out and to

ok her hand. She looked up at him, and he simply said, “Just in case I need to catch you again, I have an advantage.”

DINNER WAS DELICIOUS and Ryan finally started to relax as she kept reminding herself that this was Gregg, the guy she had spent endless hours with at weddings and anniversary parties snapping pictures, laughing at and complimenting their photos in front of the computer. The guy who liked to eat peanut butter from the jar with a spoon when he missed breakfast, and who tapped a pen on the desk when he was concentrating. The guy who had taught her how to salsa in the studio when she told him she was a hopeless dancer, and after fifteen minutes of toe-stomping fun, he agreed with her. He was more than her boss, he was her friend.

They’d laughed all through dinner, and although the lacy underwear still bugged her and made her jump around in her seat, she started to understand what Gracie was saying. She felt good in the clothes she had on, and when she went to the bathroom to touch up, she looked at the smiling woman in the mirror and finally felt like she was who she was meant to be. She still had her faults and insecurities, but today when people passed her on the street, she hadn’t lowered her eyes to avoid the contact. And when Chase waved to her from inside his shop and gave her an appreciative glance, it had made her walk taller. She thought about Gracie and Gemma, with the easy way they laughed at her humor and accepted her, all because she had finally opened her mouth and asked for what she wanted. Maybe she wasn’t really that awkward but she’d never been able to grow into herself. She’d only ever been herself with one person in this sleepy little town, and that was Gregg.

And when his hand reached out to take hers across the table, he didn’t release it until he opened the car door and helped her inside to take her home. Once he hopped inside the cab, he reached across the seat to take her hand again, and she felt the bubble of giddy, girly laughter rising in her throat and covered her mouth to hide the sound. It was the same noise she made during romantic movies as the hero confessed his love for the heroine and the two kissed passionately before the fade-out.

Kiss. Would he walk her to the door and kiss her? Or would he start kissing her in the truck? Or should she invite him in for coffee? Was that too soon?

He pulled up to her house a little after ten. He parked the car, and she tried to breathe normally as he walked her to her door.

Ryan nervously twisted her hands as she asked, “Would you like to come in for some coffee? Maybe watch a movie?”

“I would but I’ve got kind of an early day tomorrow.”

She tilted her head in confusion. “But we’re closed tomorrow.”

“Yeah but I’ve got some stuff going on. I figured I’d go for a run early. Get some stuff done afterward.”

She tried to hide her disappointment. “Oh sure, I understand. Thanks again for dinner, it was fun.”

He nodded. “No problem. I’ll see you Monday. Do you want to meet for coffee before we open?”

She gave him a small smile. “Sure, that would be great.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Well good night, then.”

“Good night, Gregg.” She waited a bit to see if he would kiss her but he just backed off her porch. She turned to go inside, trying to hold back her tears as she closed the door with a click, locking the dead bolt.

GREGG CURSED AND kicked the wheel of his truck. Going slow sucked. He’d wanted to kiss her again so badly, but knew that if he put his hands on her, there was no way he’d be able to stop. After kissing Ryan last night, the memory of the way she’d responded had kept him aroused all day. It had been downright uncomfortable to drive out to River Road with Sally Barrett, having a semi half the time because of one kiss. He opened the door of the Tahoe, hopped in and slammed the door. His grip tightened on the steering wheel as he watched the porch light go off. He hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand and was about to start it when he saw her lift the drapes and look out at him.

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